PNAIS Core Values

In living the mission of PNAIS, the following core values guide the Association’s interactions, services, and accreditation standards. These core values are essential to assisting schools in providing high quality education for children.

• Independence
• Free and Open Inquiry
• Commitment to Diversity
• Ongoing School Improvement
• Collegial Relationships and Ethical Leadership
  
  

Independence
PNAIS schools believe that the latitude to determine their own missions and philosophies, to select their faculty and students, and to develop their curricula is an essential prerequisite for their success.  Accordingly, PNAIS schools are self-governing and self-supporting without substantial dependence upon government, other entities, or individuals.  Maintaining this independence requires an outreach to and appreciation by a variety of audiences, including policy makers, the media, prospective parents and students, and prospective teachers.

Free and Open Inquiry
In PNAIS schools, students actively engage in lively yet respectful exchanges of differing viewpoints.  Through their curriculum and pedagogy, PNAIS schools teach students to think critically and to challenge their own perspectives and those of others.  PNAIS schools create a culture where students are free to express their ideas on all subjects.

Commitment to Diversity
PNAIS schools commit to creating a community of students, families, trustees, faculty, and staff from as many diverse backgrounds and perspectives as possible. The diversity of the community promotes a culture of free and open inquiry.  PNAIS recognizes, however, that a school’s unique mission and geographical location may lead it to enroll students and/or hire faculty and staff from a less diverse population.  The smaller the slice of humanity from which the school draws members of its community, the greater the burden the school bears to demonstrate adherence to the Association’s core value of a commitment to diversity and to the Association’s accreditation standards.

Ongoing School Improvement
PNAIS schools are expected to engage in a continuous process of research, reflection and on-going improvement that enables them to stay relevant to their missions and to the students and families they serve.  Schools demonstrate this commitment by working continuously to improve their educational programs, actively participating in professional development opportunities and pursuing and maintaining accreditation by PNAIS.

 
Collegial Relationships and Ethical Leadership
PNAIS has benefitted from a long tradition of collegial relationships and ethical leadership manifested by our schools. To sustain this tradition, schools voluntarily operate in accordance with good independent school practices and PNAIS accreditation standards. Schools support their employees in serving on accreditation visiting teams, in attending professional development conferences, in serving as PNAIS volunteers on committees that help guide the development and delivery of association services, and in assisting other schools with building and strengthening their programs. This active participation and willingness to serve the greater good contributes to the overall success of the Association and benefits our schools and the individuals within them as they appreciate and learn from the diversity of experience that each school brings to the Association.